How long do you let a turkey bleed out

[ProductionRed09]

First off I am such a wuss, I had to ask my neighbor if he could slaughter my two turkeys. He has agreed to do this for me next Saturday.

I have heard conflicting advice on how long to allow the birds to hang in the tree to bleed out.

One person said let them hang for a week and another said a couple of days..What do you all do?

 

[AkTomboy]

Quote:
Wow I simply cut the head off let them bleed out untill its no longer pouring out and then butcher. I place them in a saltwater ice bath for a day, then rinse and do it again for another day. From there I package and freeze or start dinner.

Thats how I do it, I have never let them hang for any longer of an amount of time. Hope others help you out with this as well.

 

[silkiechicken]

Week? Even a day? You'll have a bad turkey or a maggot covered/pred stolen turkey by then.

I let mine bleed out for maybe 3 minutes? However long it was for the blood to come to a very slow drip. Then proceed to scald, pluck, and pop the turkey in the fridge for 3 days before cooking.

 

[ProductionRed09]

Thank you for your reply..

I hope I have something large enough to put them in for a saltwater ice bath, my turkeys got a little large

 

[silkiechicken]

I used 40 gallon metal trash can for scalding.... and took out a shelf in the fridge to chill for a few days.

 

[jaku]

Wow, do NOT follow your original advice. I can't imagine leaving them more than an hour! Even that long is too long! All you need to do is kill them, then hang them up, wait for them to stop dripping, (usually just a few minutes,) them you're done. Finish processing right away. Haha, be careful, whoever told you to wait a week may be trying to kill you!!

 

[ProductionRed09]

The person who told me a week retracted their opinion once I told them how it will be done. I told him that the birds will be killed, bled out then the plucking will take place then the gutting and then I will prepare them for their nice salty ice bath in a chest freezer I borrowed from a friend (freezer will help keep the ice cold)

I am now prepared for the Saturday slaughter..Unfortunately, I do not think my larger turkey will fit into the steel trash can I bought to boil water in, so this may prove to be interesting. The smaller turkey will.

Now this may be a stupid question, but I took my bathroom scale out to the turkey pen, I stood on the scale by myself wrote down my weight, then I scooped up T-Rex boy the largest turkey and weighed again.

This turkey as he is weighs 45 pounds

I wonder how much he will weigh once he has been processed?

The smaller turkey weighed 25 pounds.

 

[phoenixmama]

I've heard the rule of thumb is that dressed weight = 2/3 live weight

I've never scientifically tested this rule, but it seems about right.

 

[ProductionRed09]

Yikes, looks like I will be eating turkey for awhile

I am only having two other friends over for Thanksgiving dinner, I hope they do not mind taking some with them..lol

 

[jaku]

Quote:
If I were you I'd eat the small one for Thanksgiving, then make jerky, sausages, and turkey burger out of the big guy!